Dennis Hopper Documentary Nearing Completion

By Alison Nastasi

May 17, 2012

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It’s kind of refreshing to find out that filmmaker Cass Warner Sperling — granddaughter of Warner Bros. co-founder Harry M. Warner — will be relying on Kickstarter and not her family name to get the funds to finish her intimate documentary on iconic actor, filmmaker, and artist Dennis Hopper. Hopper: In His Own Words is near completion and is comprised mainly of a lengthy interview Sperling did with the star for a different documentary about the family biz, The Brothers Warner.

“When I interviewed him he hadn’t been on the lot since the ’50s, but he told all of these magnificent stories of his career, including how he went through these situations with drugs and how he confronted his demons and decided to not only survive but carry on with his art form,” the filmmaker told Deadline.

Hopper shared his rehab nightmare, in which the actor fled a treatment facility with a friend after a powerful antidote didn’t agree with him. He eventually saw a doctor, and the experience scared him so much Hopper quit drugs for good. The doc will also feature stories of Hopper signing a deal with Warner Bros. at 18 years old, working with James Dean on Rebel Without A Cause and Giant. The actor famously clashed with director Henry Hathaway and told Sperling he was blackballed after that for the next decade by all the studio giants.

Sperling’s father — who wrote the documentary and is the film’s producer — advised his daughter to never use her own money to make a movie, so she’s turning to the Internet for help. We expect she’ll reach her funding goal in no time at all. Is a new doc about the recently passed rogue icon on your Hollywood wish list?